To Help Him Heal
by emilyyy5254
Summary: Scorpius writes a letter to Albus about all of the abuse he's been through at home and at school. Can Albus help him, or will the post-War society be too much for the new friends? Non-graphic mentions of abuse and suicide NO SLASH
1. Prologue

Dear Albus,

I've been at this blasted school for four years, and you're the only person who hasn't openly expressed your hatred towards me. Even though you'll never actually read this letter, it feels good pretending that someone cares.

Things really haven't been going so well. It all started with the Sorting. My mum wasn't extremely well when we boarded the train, and she only got worse after that. I'm pretty sure that was my father's doing, though. He'd always been cold to us, but when he found out that I wasn't a Slytherin, he got even worse (that Howler was just the beginning), and he blamed my mum for giving birth to such a "disgraceful" child. When I went home for Christmas that year, we barely talked. My mum was clearly getting worse, and my father obviously didn't care. She passed right after First Year ended, and that's when the beatings began.

They weren't beatings at first; he started out just yelling at me more than usual, then he started smacking me around a bit. I could handle that, and I hoped that as the summer progressed, everything would go back to normal. Of course, my hopes were too high.

My father found that he enjoyed sadism and began hitting me harder. That progressed to beating me with his cane, pots and pans, and anything else he could find in the Manor. His favorite is a bullwhip, an honest to God bullwhip.

You might want to ask me why I haven't told anyone at school about this. The answer is simple. No one cares about me enough to do anything. I told Professor Goldstein as soon as we got back to school, and he gave me detention for lying. Now that I look back, I probably shouldn't have gone to a professor who opposed my family during the War, but he's my head of house. If he doesn't care, no one else would either.

You know the rest. You've definitely heard stories from your friends about how they heroically beat up the evil Death Eater who somehow managed to worm his way into Ravenclaw. What you probably don't know is that even though I get regular detentions for picking fights, I never fight back. I just stand there and take it because I really don't want to hurt anyone. I guess I want to prove to myself that I'm not my father.

The real purpose of this letter is to say goodbye. Tonight during my rounds, I'm going to jump off of the Astronomy Tower. Then I'll finally be free of my father and everyone else who wants to see me in pain. Maybe after I'm gone, you'll read this. Maybe you'll understand me then, but you probably won't.

When I'm gone, don't pretend that you suddenly care. If you really do, I'm sorry that I'm going to hurt you by doing this, but I really can't take it anymore.

There's one thing that I want you to do for me when I'm gone. Make sure that no student at Hogwarts goes through what I did. Support those who are abused at home, and stand up for those who are bullied at school. No one deserves to be alone the way I am.

Goodbye, Potter.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy


	2. Chapter 1: Albus

Rose shoved a piece of parchment into my face during supper in the Great Hall the first day of Fifth Year. I had been animatedly chatting with the Scamander Twins and Frank Longbottom about the Quidditch World Cup Final between England and the United States. Usually, I'd blow her off while talking about Quidditch, but there was something about her eyes that made me think twice. They looked frantic and terrified. Rose always kept her cool, so I knew something was seriously wrong. I rose to my feet to steady her if she decided to faint.

"Hey, Rosie. What's up?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to calm her down. It wasn't very effective.

"ALBUS! Do NOT call me Rosie! And stop looking so calm, this is serious," She scolded. Only Rose would scold me for being calm in a stressful situation. I rolled my eyes and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You have to help him," she implored, "Please. You're the only one he'll listen to."

"Whoa, calm down, Rose. First you have to tell me who we're talking about and what I'm helping him with." She was starting to freak me out. She was never this wound up.

"Read this, it'll explain everything," she instructed, handing me the rough parchment. I knew I couldn't read it here, and I hoped it could wait for a while. I hurried to the Gryffindor Common Room, clutching it tightly. I unrolled the parchment slowly and found a tear-stained note in familiar handwriting.

"Dear Albus," It read, "I've been at this blasted school for four years, and you're the only person who hasn't openly expressed your hatred towards me. Even though you'll never actually read this letter, it feels good pretending that someone cares." My stomach sank to the floor, and I had to sit down as I read the rest of the letter. Curfew rolled around when I was about halfway through, and students of all years were heading up to their dormitories for the night. I stayed in the common room, completely horrified by what I was reading. As soon as I finished it, I sprinted out of the room and pushed past the teachers and prefects who tried to scold me for being out after hours with hasty explanations that it was extremely important.

"Mister Potter!" Headmistress McGonagall scolded as she grabbed my robe, "This better be important." I sighed, knowing I would have a hard time getting away from her quickly.

"I need to hurry. One of my—one of my friends is going to jump off the Astronomy Tower. I need to stop him. Please. I'll explain later, I promise," I replied, still pulling away from her. She immediately let go with a look that told me that I would in fact be explaining everything later. I nodded and darted up the stairs of the Tower. I found Malfoy standing on the window ledge, leaning forwards.

"Malfoy, wait!" I begged, trying not to startle him. He turned around, shock apparent on his face.

"How- how did you know that I would be here?" He asked quietly, stepping down from the ledge. I sighed in relief as I led him towards one of the chairs, which he promptly collapsed into.

"Rose gave me this," I explained, holding out the parchment, "I know I wasn't actually meant to read it but I thought that… maybe I could help you anyway, if you'd let me." A tear fell from his grey eye, a constant reminder to him of his father and grandfather.

"You really want to help me? I don't deserve…" He began.

"Don't say that, Scorpius," I interrupted, careful to use his first name, "You deserve so much. You shouldn't be treated the way you are at home or at school. Do you understand?" He nodded, his pale cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Why do you care? I thought no one did." I looked into his eyes and saw despair. He looked so helpless, so alone.

"I care and so does Rose. She was so worried for you, Scorpius. She'll be glad to hear that you're alright," I assured him, grabbing his arm. He winced, and I immediately released my grip on him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," I apologized.

"No, it's okay, really. I'm used to it." That comment made me flinch. I couldn't fathom being used to pain, but it really sounded horrible.

"I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing. Mum'll know what to do," I announced. He seemed reluctant, but he followed me anyway.

In case you didn't catch it, my mum is the Healer at Hogwarts. I hate going to the Hospital Wing because it always ends up the same: Mum heals me while scolding me severely for whatever stupid thing I probably did to land me there. This time, I prayed to Merlin that she wouldn't think I was responsible. Even though I knew I wasn't, I didn't think I'd be able to handle my own mother believing that I was so cruel, even for a second.

When we reached our destination, I inhaled deeply before opening the door.

"Oh my!" Mum exclaimed as she helped Malfoy into a bed, "What in the world happened?"

"I tried to—I tried to jump off the Astronomy Tower. Potter…Albus stopped me," Malfoy explained.

"And then what, he beat you up?" Mum questioned sarcastically. Malfoy flinched visibly, he obviously didn't pick up on my mum's tone.

"N-no ma'am, he helped me here. I got beat up b-before he saved me. D-don't hurt him, please," He pleaded, clearly terrified of mum's imposing presence. She realised how scared he was and smiled reassuringly.

"It's alright, Scorpius, I would never hurt my son, or any other child. You're safe here, I promise." She stroked Malfoy's hair gently, and to everyone's surprise, he didn't try to pull away. In fact, he smiled a bit and leant into the touch. Mum gave him a phial of Dreamless Sleep Potion and within minutes his breathing had evened and his eyes had closed.

"We need to talk about this, Al," Mum told me as she began tending to Scorpius' many wounds.

"He wrote me a letter, well it wasn't actually for me, but he pretended it was. He wrote about all of the horrible things that people have done to him since he came to school," I began.

"This didn't all happen in a day."

"I didn't mean this year, I meant since he first came to Hogwarts when we were eleven. Everyone bullies him, even the teachers, and his dad beats him. How could someone do that to their own son?" I felt tears at the corners of my eyes.

"Some people aren't fit to raise children, Al. It's our job as humans to care for their sons and daughters for them, to give them a good life," She explained as she pulled me into an embrace. Usually, something like that would embarrass me, but that time I wanted to stay in her arms forever instead of having to face the cruel world that hurt Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 2: Albus

The next day, I could barely concentrate in my classes. I was exhausted from my late night, but mostly I was worried about Scorpius Malfoy. The worst lesson was Professor Goldstein's; I was so angry at him for what he did to Scorpius, but I held my tongue. I knew it really wasn't my place to complain, and I couldn't help Scorpius from detention. After my morning lessons were over, I was called into Headmistress McGonagall's office. Many students gaped at me, probably wondering if I was being called in for one of James' stupid pranks. I, however, knew that it was time for me to explain the events of the previous night. I sauntered in the direction her office seemingly aimlessly, acting as if I hadn't had an enormous burden on my shoulders. As soon as I was allowed past the gargoyle, my facade dropped completely. My nervousness showed, and I felt extremely nauseated by the fear that McGonagall wouldn't care about Scorpius.

"Mister Potter," the Headmistress addressed me. Her voice was as stern as ever, but her eyes were soft and kind.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" I played dumb, hoping to Merlin that I might be able to get out of the emotionally draining discussion that I knew was coming.

"You promised me an explanation last night, and I expect it to be a good one."

"Yeah, I did," I began while trying to gather my scattered thoughts, "I guess the best place to start would be at supper yesterday. Rose gave me a letter that Scorpius Malfoy had written. It was a suicide note. After curfew, during his rounds, he was going to jump off of the Astronomy Tower. I had to stop him, it was much more important than curfew."

"And you made it in time?" She asked.

"Yeah, thank Merlin. I brought him to the Hospital Wing; Mum's taking care of him. She says he'll be fine," I explained. She looked at me thoughtfully, as if reading my mind. It occurred to me that she might have been trying, but I was a pretty good Occlumens. When your father is the Head Auror, you have to be if you want to get away with anything.

"Mister Potter, do you know why Mister Malfoy wanted to commit suicide?" The Headmistress questioned.

"Yes, Professor. He… he told me that he couldn't take it anymore. He was being bullied mercilessly at school and abused at home. He said he went to his Head of house, but he accused Scorpius of lying instead of helping him. Rose and I were apparently the only students who have never bullied him at all. He didn't think that anyone would miss him." My throat closed up as I said the last sentence. It really hurt to think that everyone who always seemed so nice to me was so cruel to Scorpius and that the only reason things were like that was because my dad was the Saviour of the Wizarding World, and his father was a Death Eater.

"And he's in the Hospital Wing right now?"

"Yeah. My Mum's given him a Dreamless Sleep Potion, so I don't think he's awake," I informed her, yawning. The stress and lack of sleep were catching up with me, and I felt a sudden onset of exhaustion. McGonagall noticed.

"Mister Potter, I think it would be best if you took the afternoon off. I will inform your professors that you have been excused from your lessons. I expect that you will be in your dormitory until the school day is over or until your mother sends for you," She instructed me.

"Thank you. I'll go get some rest," I assured her. I thought I saw a twinkle in her eye, but I couldn't be sure. And with that, I was dismissed from her office.

I strolled down the corridor somewhat slowly, until I passed the throng of students rushing as slowly as they possibly could from the Great Hall to their afternoon classes. I tried to avoid anyone who I'd normally talk to, so, of course, I ran into my older brother.

"Hey, Al! I heard that you had to go to McGonagall's office. What did _you_ do to land yourself there?" He asked curiously as his left eyebrow rose over his light brown eyes that he got from Mum.

"Nothing. I was out after curfew and McGonagall caught me. I'm not in trouble, though," I blurted when his eyes lit up in amusement, "I was helping a friend. It was important." James' face fell when he realised that I wasn't taking after him or his namesake. He'd always had this idea that we could be partners in crime, or more realistically, a trio with Fred.

"So why isn't my serious little brother in class already? Doesn't it start in only two minutes?" He teased, smirking. I rolled my green eyes at him.

"I'm excused from afternoon classes, _Jamey_," I teased back as I continued meandering in the general direction of Gryffindor Tower.

After giving the password, _Brian_, to the Fat Lady, I lazily ascended the stairs and promptly collapsed into bed. I couldn't sleep, though, and lay awake in bed awaiting the end of school or my mum's message, whichever got to me first.

Hey, guys! I hate long author's notes, but bear with me for a second. In the spirit of Harry Potter's British-ness, I'm trying to write in the Queen's English as opposed to my native dialect, American. This could lead to some spelling/wording mistakes (I might write something the American way without knowing it's said differently across the pond). If you are British, don't be offended by my mistakes, point them out to me (nicely), and I'll do my best to get it right.

PS. If you read my first story, I'm really sorry it didn't work out. It's been amazing hearing that you guys miss it (because it means that you actually enjoyed reading it). I'm going to try to rewrite it eventually (11th grade is horrible and leaves me with barely any free time... I'm just giving excuses), but it won't be for a while because of this (actually planned out) story and an original novel that I'm trying to finish.

Thank you so much to MydniteShadow1996 for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 3: Scorpius

I woke up what felt like a second after taking the potion Mrs. Potter gave me, my head ached and I still felt completely exhausted. My eyes fluttered open long enough for me to realize that it wasn't nighttime anymore. Light streamed into the tall windows of the Hospital Wing, but I only noticed it for a moment before my eyes shut and I drifted back into unconsciousness.

"Boy," Father's voice scolded, "You've broken my biggest rule." I was extremely confused. When did Father come to Hogwarts?

"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't…"

"Stupid!" He cut me off, "Apologies are for the weak. Malfoys cannot be weak." I flinched at his enraged tone, and prayed to whatever power was out there that something, anything, would stop the inevitable beating that was to come. Suddenly, the dream shifted. I was standing in front of the Eagle. I knocked on the handle so I could enter the common room, but the question was drowned out by someone else.

"Snakes aren't allowed in here." I whirled around to find Lysander Scamander glaring at me as if I'd been intruding.

"I'm… this is my House. You know that, right?" He shook his head in disgust.

"You know, Malfoy, I don't even see why you'd want to _pretend_ you're in Ravenclaw. You're clearly a slimy snake just like your father." Those words hurt more than any beating my father had ever given me. I didn't have time to respond, though, before it changed again. This time, I was sitting at my House's table in the Great Hall. James Potter strutted towards me, his trademark smirk plastered on his face.

"Malfoy, why don't you go die? I mean everyone wants you to. My entire house, the Ravenclaws you pretend to be a part of, your precious snakes… and especially my brother." My heart sank to the floor when he mentioned Albus. Hadn't he just stopped me from killing myself?

"Things would be better if you didn't exist, Death Eater," Albus jeered as he stepped into view. His smirk was identical to his brother's, but everything else about him reminded me of his father, the Saviour. His smirk morphed into an evil grin, the kind Father always had when he beat me. As if he could read my mind, Albus pulled out Father's bullwhip and raised it.

"No! Please don't do this! I—please don't. I can't…"

"Stop being so weak, boy!" Albus scolded in Father's condescending voice, "My son isn't weak, so therefore you must not be my son!" The whip began to lower in slow motion and all I could do was watch. I realized after a second that I was screaming.

"Scorpius!" A desperate voice called, "Scorpius, wake up. It's just a dream; you're alright." I realised that it sounded just like Albus' voice, but it couldn't be him. Albus was in front of me, about to beat me. I felt an invisible hand shake me, and I awoke abruptly to find Albus standing over my bed with his hand on my shoulder. His usually unruly black hair was a complete mess, and his green eyes were wide with worry.

"It's okay, Scorpius, nothing's wrong. You were dreaming." I wiped the tears from my eyes and promptly buried my face in the fluffy white pillow on my cot, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong? What was your dream about?" I really didn't want to talk about it, but I knew I'd have to tell him eventually.

I sighed before beginning, "Everyone hated me. Even you. Your brother said that everyone wants me to die. The Eagle wouldn't let me in; it said 'Snakes aren't allowed in here'. You told me—you told me that I shouldn't exist. You were about to beat me, but you had Father's voice. Then, you woke me up." I could feel the tears again, but I knew there was no stopping them.

"Scorpius, I'm so sorry. I really don't hate you. I hope you know that by now," he stopped abruptly when he heard me muttering the word stupid, "Knowing something doesn't mean you won't dream differently. You're afraid that I'm pretending to like you so that I can hurt you. I know that's happened before, but I'm not pretending. I really want to help you, Scorpius. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met. I wonder why you're not a Gryffindor…" That last statement made my heart soar. No one had ever told me anything like that, just that I must be such a slimy snake that I managed to trick the hat into placing me in Ravenclaw.

"Thanks, Potter—Albus. It means a lot to me that you care so much. No one else does…don't try to tell me otherwise, I know it's true." I glanced over at the clock and realised that it was before three, which meant that Albus should have been in Herbology. I was about to question it, but then I thought that Professor Longbottom wouldn't really care if his friends' son was absent. Being a Potter definitely had its privileges at Hogwarts.

"I was excused from my afternoon lessons. I had to tell McGonagall what happened because she caught me out after hours last night. I was allowed to sleep until Mum called me in here to wake you up. She'd been trying for a while. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me; I can handle myself."

"Not everyone hates you, you know," Albus remarked after a few minutes of silence. I rolled my eyes, smirking.

"Isn't that reassuring? There's at least one person in this world that doesn't hate me. How wonderful!" I retorted sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. Rose was really worried about you, always has been. She always tells me that she wants to be your friend, but her dad has a thing against yours and… let's just say he's really good at holding grudges. I'm sure he'll warm up to you eventually. And Lily, she's come up and talked to you a few times, hasn't she?" I thought about his little sister who seemed to be one of the bravest Gryffindors for the sole reason that she honestly didn't care what anyone thought of her. She'd approach me in the Great Hall, in front of every single student, and have a civil conversation with me. I never understood why she would risk her popularity to be nice to the Death Eater's son, the one everyone hated. For some odd reason (maybe because she's a Potter?), no one ever called her out on it. I, on the other hand, was tortured by many a Weasley boy for "corrupting her."

"Yeah, she has. She's great. And so is your mum; she's being so kind to me. Like my mum was." I sighed again at the thought of my mother, who'd been the only good thing in my world. I missed her so much, and longed to be loved the way she had loved me.

So I'm probably going to be able to put up one or two more chapters this weekend, but I have school again this Monday, so things are going to be much more spread apart. I'll try to put up a chapter every week or two, but that's really wishful thinking because I'm going to be swamped with work as soon as I get home. I'd like to thank LuckyNumbers. This entire fic came from a conversation with her.


	5. Chapter 4: Scorpius

After about an hour, Albus left the Hospital Wing. Our discussion had been very emotional; I had run out of tears about halfway through and the normally stoic Albus even shed a few tears. I was excited for a rest, but Mrs. Potter strode up to my bed as soon as her son left my bedside. I knew immediately that I'd be getting no reprieve.

"Scorpius, Albus gave me your letter. I think we need to have a bit of a talk, is that alright?" She asked gently, as if I might break if she was too hard on me.

"Yes, ma'am, that's fine." I was always polite and formal with adults. That was how Father and his friends liked it; he was always "Father," never "Dad," and his friends were always "Sir" or "Ma'am." It was safer to be respectful; it resulted in fewer injuries on my part.

"Scorpius, you can relax around me. I'm not going to hurt you. Do you understand?" The floor suddenly became very interesting as I looked down to avoid her gaze.

"Yes, ma'am, I understand." I keep my eyes trained on the floor, ashamed that I couldn't relax around her even though she was being so kind to me.

"Scorpius, look at me," she instructed and waited until I made eye contact, "You don't have to call me "ma'am," my name is Ginny. I know this is going to be hard for you, but I need you to be able to relax around me. I would never hurt you, Scorpius, but I need to check you over. For that, I'm going to need you to take off your shirt. Can you do that for me?" I noticed that her tone was still careful. I nodded and pulled my shirt over my head, wincing as some of my many cuts were agitated. I heard Mrs. Potter gasp as she saw for the first time what my father had done to me.

My back was littered with cuts and scars from the numerous beatings my father had given me. My stomach was much the same, and there were hand-shaped bruises around my neck and waist where my father and his friends had choked me and held me down. My gaze found the floor again and I focused all of my energy on resisting the urge to cover myself. I knew that if Mrs. Potter didn't see my bruises, she wouldn't be able to help me.

"Thank you, Scorpius. You did very well." She draped a blanket over my shoulders and kissed my forehead gently, the say she often did to her sons.

"He—he raped me, too. He said it was so that I could remember who I belonged to. I-I don't want him to d-do that ever again. P-please don't let him hurt me. I c-can't…" A fresh set of tears prevented me from completing my sentence and I buried my face in Mrs. Potter's shoulder as she murmured comforting words in my ear. She told me that Father would never be able to hurt me again and that I was safe. I stayed in her arms long after I had stopped crying because I felt comfortable there. Mrs. Potter had a motherly quality to her that made everyone feel comfortable around her. It definitely helped me while she healed my cuts and bruises; that was the first time I didn't freak out when an adult raised a wand near me.

"What about at school. What do the students do to you? You don't have to give me any names if you don't feel comfortable."

"It's not quite as bad at school—at least I can process the fact that my classmates don't like me. It's mostly teasing, creative nicknames like "Orphan" and "Death Eater," whispers in the corridor, dirty looks. Some of the boys think that it's fun to push me around and beat me up. The teachers don't care about it; most of them hated Father when they were at Hogwarts and are happy to carry it on with me. Pretty much everyone has taken part, except for a few Hufflepuffs who clearly stay out of it so that they can say that they didn't do anything. The only people who have really cared are Albus, Rose, and Lily." I smiled when I mentioned the ginger girl who unabashedly associated with me.

"And you're sure you're alright? I could give you some more potions if you need…"

"I'm fine, ma'am. I don't need anything. I'm just tired. May I go to sleep now?" Mrs. Potter visibly deflated when I called her "ma'am," but she allowed me to go back to sleep, which I did almost instantly after I drank another Dreamless Sleep potion.

I woke up what felt like an instant later feeling completely rested. I sat up when I noticed that Albus was once again by my bedside, but this time he was standing beside Rose.

"Hey, Malfoy. How are you? I'm so sorry, I should have done something earlier, I just didn't think it would come to this," Rose apologized.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Rose. I'm fine now, I promise. Besides, you had no way of knowing that I was going to try that." I still had trouble admitting to myself that I had really attempted suicide, but the last thing I wanted was for the people who saved me to start blaming themselves.

"You're not going to do that again, are you?"

"No, he's not," Al replied, looking at me for confirmation.

"I won't. Things are better now." Al glanced up at the clock.

"I'm sorry guys, I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" He sounded like he was my father and I was about four.

"Yes, _Dad_," I teased. He smiled brightly as he turned to leave. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Rose burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry, Scorpius, I should've… I should've done something earlier. I just didn't know what to do!"

"You did the right thing in the end, giving Al that letter. I'm really grateful. You're probably the reason that I'm still alive."

"Do you really mean that?" Her brown eyes were hopeful.

"Yeah. When I was thinking about… doing it, I thought that no one would miss me, but then you came to mind, and Al and Lily. I wasn't sure you'd actually care, but you three had been nice to me and I didn't want you to feel guilty or anything. It's why I wrote the note. I only addressed it to Albus, but it was to tell you that it wasn't your fault; I just wasn't strong enough to take it."

"What's changed?" Rose asked quietly, playing with a stray lock of her fiery hair.

"I realised that there are people who really care about me. I didn't want to hurt anyone." Rose's face scrunched up as she tried to think of a response, but she gave up after a second. There were a few minutes of silence until Rose spoke again,

"I'm just glad you're alive." I felt slightly awkward hearing that same line repeatedly. It felt almost fake, but I knew that she really didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, me too."

"You know what?" She asked out of the blue a few moments later.

"What?"

"I don't think I'm afraid anymore?"

"Afraid of what?" She had great friends, a loving family, top grades (second only to mine, of course). What did she have to be scared of?

"Afraid to be friends with you. I thought that if I let us be friends, I'd lose everything. My dad would hate me, and no one else would want to talk to that weird kid who's friends with the Death Eater. But I don't care anymore. If they all hate me, at least I'll have you and Al, right? That's enough for me." She smiled at me before exiting the room.

I knew that everything was really changing. I had two new friends looking out for me. They knew about Father and the bullies at school, and an adult was trying to keep me safe. I shook my head, trying to figure out exactly how my luck had changed so quickly.


	6. Chapter 5: Albus

Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long, but junior year got in the way a TON. So now that AP exams are over, I thought I'd continue writing this. It'll probably still be sporadic, but it'll be more frequent, at least until school starts again. Thank you so much for your patience, and again I'm really sorry.

Here's Chapter 5!

* * *

><p>I left the Hospital Wing, hoping to make it back to my dormitory without anyone noticing. Of course, as Murphy's Law states, what can go wrong will go wrong.<p>

"Hey, Al! Did you have fun shagging your boyfriend?" James teased.

"He's not my boyfriend, James. He's just a friend, and besides, he's straight." I couldn't lie to him about the fact that I was questioning my sexuality, but I didn't want to come out to him until I was sure.

"What about you? Are you a homosexual, Albus? Do you have a fetish for blond hair and Dark Marks?"

"I'm not… I don't know, okay? Stop talking about that. He's just a friend, and I'm helping him out with a problem."

"Is that problem about six inches long?"

"James! Shut up! He's going through some family trouble, and Rose and I are helping him cope. Stop making sex jokes; they're not funny."

"What kind of family trouble?" James' mocking tone still hadn't left his voice.

"It's none of your concern. I'm going to go study now, so leave me alone."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," he suddenly became serious, "But if I see you with that Death Eater again, I swear we won't be brothers anymore."

"James, don't you think that's a bit harsh? I mean, it's just Scorpius."

"So you're on a first name basis with him now. Why am I not surprised. What next? You gonna ask the Headmistress to turn you into a Snake? I will _not_ have a Slytherin for a brother."

"Albus, you know as well as I do that Scorpius is a Ravenclaw, not a Slytherin. And you can't change your house either. He's a good kid, and you've got to stop treating him so badly; he really doesn't deserve it."

"Albus, do you want me to believe that you're not in love with Malfoy? Because if you do, you're doing a horrible job of convincing me. Everyone's been coming up to me, telling me stories about you and that disgusting son of a Death Eater. I heard you spent the afternoon with him in the Hospital Wing. Was he that friend you told me about earlier? Is he really that important to you that you would sneak out after curfew and miss class for him?" James was starting to get under my skin. I mean, he didn't know anything, and he just wouldn't stop. I decided to just tell him the truth, or at least part of it, and let him think what he wanted.

"Yeah, he is that friend that I told you about, I did spend the afternoon with him, and he is that important. Maybe if you treated him like a _person_, I wouldn't have to spend all that time with him. Just leave him alone, all right? There are things about him that you don't know." I wanted so badly to tell James what exactly he didn't know, but I knew I couldn't.

"Yeah, like what?" James snarled. I flinched a bit at his tone; he never got this angry at me. His brown eyes were smouldering.

"I can't tell you. I promised him I wouldn't. It's very personal, and I don't want to betray his trust." Merlin knows that enough people have done that to him.

"So you're choosing him over me, then? Alright, so be it. I'll just go talk to Lily, my loyal sibling, before she turns over to the Death Eaters as well." He turned to leave, but I had a sudden surge of confidence and decided to stop him.

"You know that Lily's friends with him, right? She's always been; even before I started talking to him." Like magic, our sister walked into the common room.

"What are you two idiots arguing about now?" She asked, as if she'd read our minds. As far as I knew, Lily wasn't a Legilimens. Dad had taught us all Occlumency just in case, but Legilimency was off limits.

"Al was just telling me about his new boyfriend, weren't you Albus?" James' eyes gleamed with mischief now, the way they always did when he thought he had the upper hand.

"Albus doesn't have a boyfriend, he would have told me. You must be talking about his new friend, Scorpius Malfoy," Lily responded coolly. James visibly deflated.

"I told you, mate. She knows."

"Al's just being nice to Scorpius. Could you excuse us for a bit, James?" Lily asked politely. James nodded, but looked as if he was going to eavesdrop anyway.

"What's wrong with Scorpius? Why has he been in the Hospital Wing for so long? Mom won't tell me anything except that he's hurt badly, and that magic can't heal everything," Lily gushed after placing a silencing charm over us. I glanced behind me just in time to see James' pissed off expression.

"I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone, and that includes you. If he wants to tell you, that's his business, not mine. Just be a good friend to him, alright? He really needs us right now.

"I'm so proud of you, Lil. You've been such a good friend to him, even when everything we've ever learned told you to hate him." Lily beamed at me. I realized then how infrequently we complimented her like that. I berated myself, and made a mental note to do it more often.

"Alright. I trust you, but if you hurt him, I swear I'll never talk to you again."

"Lily, it sounds like I _am_ dating him! I won't hurt him, though. I'll do my best to prevent it." That was apparently enough for her, because she took down the silencing charm and skipped up to her dormitory.

* * *

><p>Thanks to MydniteShadow1996 for your continued support, and to LuckyNumbers for being the best trampoline EVER! I'll (hopefully) be posting again soon.<p> 


	7. Chapter 6: Scorpius

I don't know how this happened, but I wrote an entire chapter today, and I'll probably have time to write another before the weekend. Consider yourselves lucky.

Thanks to Triple Insanity for your review!

Here's Chapter 6!

I was released from the Hospital Wing after four long, boring days. Lucky for me, only two of those days had classes, so I was able to keep up. Professor Longbottom was even kind enough to explain the lessons I'd missed when he visited me. That especially surprised me because Father and Professor Longbottom were definitely not friends at Hogwarts.

I hurried through the corridors; I'd been allowed to return to my room about ten minutes before classes let out, but I was apparently too slow.

"Hey, Malfoy!" James Potter's voice rang through the corridor. I sighed, and prepared myself for a beating. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be physical, because James had never hit me before, but I couldn't be positive. After all, I had recently become friends with his little brother and sister. James was extremely protective of them, and he wouldn't want someone like me corrupting them.

"So, Death Eater, I heard something about you." I didn't say anything, it was usually better not to.

"I heard that your mother hated you so much that she killed herself. Is that true, Death Eater?" His words stung worse than a wasp. My brain knew that they were ridiculous; my mother had been ill for a long time, even before I was born. My heart, however, had been telling me that for a long time. Mrs. Potter said that it was because of my low self-esteem and Father's constant insults, but I could never quite shake the thought that maybe it was my fault.

I wanted to tell him to shut up, but I couldn't find the words. I felt like I was sinking, and I just wanted to disappear forever. I didn't do either of those things. I just stood there, staring blankly past James, not making eye contact. James seemed pleased with himself.

"Why don't you do us a favor and go kill yourself?" he asked. _I tried already, and I couldn't even do _that_ right._ I sighed again, and started walking towards Ravenclaw Tower.

"Whoa, Malfoy, I think you're going the wrong way. The dungeons are the other way," he pointed for emphasis. It was nothing I hadn't heard before, and the familiarity helped me build my facade up even more.

"Thanks, but I know where I'm going," I responded coolly, and walked away before he could get another word in. As I hurried back to the safety of my dorm, I was cut off by a mass of fiery red hair.

"Lily." I was extremely relieved for the reprieve.

"Hi, Scorpius!" she greeted me brightly, "You're feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm great." I tried to hide my feelings from my voice. I didn't want to bother Lily with my problems.

"What's wrong? Who was mean to you? Was it James?" I breathed deeply before responding.

"Yeah, it was James, but it was nothing. I'm fine." She didn't seem to believe me, but didn't press the subject.

"If you want to talk, I'm here. Why don't I walk you to Ravenclaw Tower? People probably won't mess with you if I'm there." She was right, they always left me alone when I was with her.

"That sounds good, thanks." We walked through the corridors, and I gave her pointers in the classes that I had taken the year before.

"Do you need help in any of your other classes?" I asked her after explaining a complicated transfiguration concept.

"No, I think I'm okay. I have a question, though." I nodded. "Why do you take Muggle Studies?" I was a bit shocked by her question for two reasons. First of all, the fact that Lily was asking me, and second, the matter-of-fact tone she was using. She wasn't accusing me of anything devious, she was just curious.

"Uh, I guess I was interested in it. I mean, I'd grown up only knowing about wizard life, and there was always a whole other world out there. A big part of it was also to go against my father. He would never have allowed me to take it if I hadn't signed up behind his back."

"That was devious of you. How did it turn out? Was he mad?" Her eyes lit up, the same way Al's did when he was talking about the antics he'd gotten into with his brother and cousins.

"He was furious." I forced myself to smile, but inside I shuddered. I'd received many beatings because of my choice to take "that ridiculous excuse for a class" with the "Mudblood" professor. I was always proud after the beatings, though, because it was my own little rebellion. I wasn't brave enough to stand up to him, but while I was safely at school, I could go against him for a little while, at least until I had to go back to the Manor (it wasn't home anymore.)

"I'm glad you like it. Are you really that interested in the Muggle world? 'Cause if you are, maybe you and I could…" Her voice faltered and she looked away, embarrassed.

"Maybe we could what?" I asked, unsure. What was she trying to tell me?

"Maybe I could take you to the cinema or something like that," She blushed and looked away from me.

"You mean like on a date?" I asked in complete shock. I hadn't realized that Lily could like me like that. I'd never seen myself as particularly attractive or interesting. I also hadn't thought about Lily in _that _way, but now that the idea had planted itself in my head, it seemed pretty appealing.

"Uh, sure, if you want… I mean, I'd like that." She beamed at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. I finally had something to look forward to.


	8. Chapter 7: Albus

Hello, living organisms with access to the Internet! How are you today? I'm doing great, thanks for asking.

Thanks to Triple Insanity for reviewing the last chapter!

Here's the next chapter!

It was pretty amazing how Scorp bounced back after everything. We quickly became the best of friends, and I even managed to get most of the student body to stop antagonizing him so much. The only people who gave him crap were the Slytherins and James. I figure they're lost causes.

Two months after Scorpius left the Hospital Wing, I was sitting with Rose. We were talking about our Defense teacher, Professor Thomas. He's a good friend of Mum and Dad's, and the other students always ask him for stories about Rose's and my parents. He was very hands on, and he got special permission from the School Board to show us the Unforgivables on a fly. Dad wasn't too happy about that. He wrote in his last letter that he'd had a crazy Defense teacher his fourth year who'd given a similar lesson. He didn't think that it was such a good idea, but he'd been outvoted.

"I think it's going to be really cool, but I don't know if I really want to watch Professor Thomas torture the poor bug." Rose was always a bleeding heart like that. There was a lull in the conversation. I never knew how to respond to comments like that.

"I've been thinking Rosie. What's Scorpius going to do during Christmas? He can't go back to his father, can he?"

"He could come to our Christmas. Grandma Molly would love to have a new kid to coddle." I chuckled at that.

"Do you think he'd want to? I mean, our family is kind of weird, and James would be there and…" She cut me off with a hand.

"I think he'd love it." The question was, would we be allowed to bring him home?

I went to the Hospital Wing, thinking about how much things had changed. Until this year, I had tried as hard as I could to stay away from where my Mum worked. I never wanted to see her at school, and I was always really embarrased when I had to. After everything that happened with Scorpius, I started spending a lot of my free time there. I guess after everything I'd seen, I learned to appreciate having my Mum around, even when she embarrassed me. But this time, my visit wasn't just to say hello.

"Hey, Al. How are you?" Mum rushed over to me as soon as I walked in and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm great, Mum. How are you?" I decided that I should get on her good side before I asked anything big.

"What do you want, Albus? You're never that polite to me." I rolled my eyes. Of course Mum would see through everything.

"I was just wondering…" I paused, thinking about how to word my question, "Could Scorpius possibly spend Christmas with us? I mean he shouldn't have to go back to his father's house. It's not safe for him there."

"I think that's a wonderful idea, honey. You should talk to James and Lily about it first, though. Okay?" That could be a problem. James still hates Scorpius' guts.

"Okay Mum. I will." Wish me luck.

I found James and Lily in the common room. They were playing Exploding Snap, and Lily, as usual, was dominating the game.

"Hey, I have a question to ask both of you." They both looked up with matching expressions that read "This better be important."

"What is it?" Lily asked politely, but she clearly just wanted to get back to her game.

"Would it be okay with you two if Scorpius came over for Christmas? 'Cause I'm going to ask him tomorrow." The reactions I got were extremely different. James' face went from disgusted to amused.

"So what? You're going to bring your Death-Eater boyfriend into our house? What would Mum and Dad think?" Lily's eyes grew wide at the word boyfriend, as if she'd been caught.

"They're fine with it _Jamesy_," I retorted.

"Well, I think it's a great idea," Lily announced, her face as red as her hair. I would have to ask her about it later, but it occurred to me that she'd been going red like that lately when Scorpius came up in conversation. She caught me staring at her and ran off. I knew I'd embarrassed her, but I had the right to do that to my little sister, right?

"So, Al, what are you gonna do to your little boyfriend? Or is he going to Mark you?"

"Don't even joke about that, James. It's really not funny." James didn't seem to understand that it wasn't okay for the son of Harry Potter to make jokes about the Wizarding Wars. Maybe other kids could once in a while, but we were sort of the poster children for how good everything got after the war, and we couldn't afford to be intolerant like that.

"You only think that because it's true." I wanted to hex James into next week, but I kept my cool.

"James, it's really not okay to call Scorpius a Death Eater. He's proven that he's not like his family. He's a Ravenclaw for Merlin's sake! If that's not proof that he isn't a regular Malfoy, I don't know what is."

I stormed off to my dormitory, trying to figure out how to invite Scorpius over without seeming overly concerned. He's been trying to get over it, and in his words, "I don't need you and your Mum treating me like I'm about to break." I hoped that he would say yes. I really needed an ally at Christmastime, especially with James acting the way he had been.


	9. Chapter 8: Scorpius

Chapter 8!

I walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts with a million things on my mind. I worried about how I'd react to the demonstration Professor Thomas was putting on. Father had used Unforgivables on me before, and just hearing them referenced made me shudder. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, but this was a mandatory presentation. Not even Mrs. Potter could get me out of it.

The second thing I was scared of was Christmas. I couldn't go home to Father, but I didn't have permission from him to stay at school. I didn't have many options. The only viable one was Al, but his family had done enough for me already. I couldn't possibly impose myself on them or anything, and I couldn't invite myself over to their house anyway.

I pushed all of my thoughts aside and focused on the major task at hand, staying calm while watching a professor torture a creature the same way Father had tortured me. I sat in the back of the room, and when Al moved to sit next to me, I shook my head.

"I don't want him to think I sat back here to talk or anything. He'll move me up." Al smiled sympathetically and moved up next to Rose. No one else really wanted to sit with me. They may have stopped teasing me, but they still all thought I was a Blood Purist like my name suggested.

"I bet he thinks he's too smart for this lesson. He's probably done a million Unforgivables already," Evie Jordan, a Gryffindor, whispered to her twin brother Luke, who was sitting across the aisle from her. I brushed it off, the way I'd been doing since I was eleven, and waited for the lesson to end.

"Mr. Malfoy," Professor Thomas addressed me as he entered the room, "Could you please join us in the front? This is a very important lesson." I wanted to refuse, but in my experience, saying no to an adult never ended in anything but extreme amounts of pain.

"Yes, sir," I responded meekly, and took the empty seat next to Evie. I glared at her for good measure, and she had the decency to blush when she realized I'd heard her.

"As you all know, today I'm going to show you the three curses known as Unforgivables. Scorpius, can you name them for the class?" I swallowed hard.

"Yes, sir. The Cr-cruciatus, the Imp-perius, and the K-killing c-curse." I began to shake, memories involving those three spells flooded my head.

"Good. Now I'm going to enlarge this fly a bit so you can see everything…" I took that as my cue to close my eyes and shut everything out. A few minutes later, I felt someone poking me.

"Malfoy, he's just killed the thing. You should probably snap out of it now," Evie whispered quietly. I opened my eyes and sighed heavily.

"Thanks, Jordan." Professor Thomas let us out early. I scrambled out of the room, but Evie caught me.

"Are you okay? You seemed afraid in there. He's not going to use those on you, you know." I searched her eyes for any indication that I could trust her.

"I know, but there are people in this school who really don't like me..." I didn't exactly lie, but I kind of led her in the wrong direction.

"You think a student would do that to you?" I shrugged and let her think what she wanted.

"I'm okay, Jordan. Promise." I ran off to catch up with Albus and Rose.

"What was that about?" Rose asked, "Did you have a panic attack? Are you okay?" Only Rose could ask such concerned questions so calmly.

"No, I didn't have a panic attack, but I came close. Evie was just making sure I was alright. It was a bit surprising."

"Hey, Scorpius, I was wondering if you'd like to spend Christmas with us. I mean, I could use some backup against James, and I'm sure _Lily_ would love to spend time with you." _How did he find out about Lily? We've only been on a few dates. Maybe he doesn't actually know. I should play dumb._

"I'd love to spend Christmas with you guys, but I don't want to…"

"Mum already said that it was fine. She and Dad are happy to have you." Sometimes it was like Al could read my mind. I smiled, but wondered if they really meant it. Did they just pity me?

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." I ran off to my dorm and just sat on my bed, thanking whatever deity was out there for my good luck.

The next morning, I found Lily sitting at the Ravenclaw table during breakfast. It was unusual for a student to sit at a different house's table, but Gryffindors always sat together. Everyone else said it was a superiority thing.

"Hey, Scorp!" She greeted me brightly, the way she always did.

"Hi, Lily. How are you?" She blushed a bit, and I smirked.

"I'm good. Al told me that you're coming over for Christmas. Does that mean that…"

"I promised Al that I'd be a perfect gentleman," I told her. Her face fell just a fraction, and my smirk widened into a full smile.

"Well if you didn't, he and James would probably never let me get within a hundred feet of you." I had to laugh at that.


	10. Chapter 9: Albus

Hey guys! So I (finally) finished the school year, so I can update a bit more. I'm anticipating four more chapters, not including this one, but that might change (depending on feedback). I want to thank the three people who have reviewed so far: MydniteShadow1996, your-epic-nerd, and Ferretess. As for the rest of you, please tell me what you think! I need to know what you like or dislike if I'm going to make this an enjoyable story. I'm sure you all have something to say if you've made it this far…

When Christmas finally rolled around, we were all excited. I'd never seen Scorpius look as happy as he did when we all boarded the Express.

"I'm just glad I don't have to go to the Manor," he whispered to me, "It would have been hell on earth."

"I'm sure it would have, but just warning you, our Christmas is kind of strange."

"Anything your family does is strange, _Potter_," he joked, "I'm sure it's better than my Christmases have been."

Lily and Rose joined us in our compartment.

"Has Al told you anything about our Christmas yet? 'Cause you probably want a heads-up. It's pretty weird," Lily asked me as she closed the door.

"I was about to." I turned to Scorpius, "We all stay up until midnight telling old stories about the family. Then, all the kids go to bed and Father Christmas comes and puts presents in our stockings and under the tree."

"You believe in Father Christmas? My Father told me when I was four that he's not real," Scorpius told us somewhat sadly.

"When you were _four_?" Lily exclaimed, "Couldn't he have given you some of your childhood?"

"He was never kind to me, Lils, even when Mum was alive. He'd go on about how I was to be the man of the house some day, which meant that I had to act like it. I never got to play with other children or anything like that."

"Well, you can play with our cousins if you want. Teddy and Victoire's twins are only a year old," Rose supplied.

"They are so cute! And they've just learned to talk, too," Lily gushed. She loved the twins, and whenever they came over she would spend all of her time with them. I wondered how she was going to split it now that her sort-of-boyfriend was staying with us.

The rest of the ride went on in much the same way. Lily, Rose, and I told Scorpius stories about our Christmases, and gave him a heads-up about the members of our oversized family. Rose warned him that her father may not like him at first. Uncle Ron despised Scorpius' father, and he was known to hold a grudge against the entire Malfoy family.

"I'm sure he'll warm up to you quickly, though," Lily added quickly when she noticed that Scorpius had begun shaking.

"It's alright, Scorpius," I whispered to him, "He won't hurt you. He's not like that. I promise."

"But he likes you," Scorpius pointed out, "My f-family, they… even the people who say they're accepting hate me because of Father."

"Uncle Ron would never hit a child, even one he thinks might be a Death Eater. It's been over twenty years, Scorp. They've all come to terms with it. He may be a bit gruff towards you, but he'd never hurt you physically. And even if he wanted to, _which he won't_, Aunt Hermione always keeps him in check. It'll be alright."

The worrying wore Scorpius out, and he slept for the remainder of the train ride.

"Al, what are we going to do about James? You know he hates Scorpius, and now that we're…" Lily blushed. She still couldn't tell me that they were dating. I smiled at her.

"I'll deal with him if it comes to that, but I think he'll be fine. James never beats Scorpius up, he just teases sometimes. Scorp can handle that."

"So did you hear who asked to sit next to me at the next Start-of-Term feast?" Rose asked Lily, who promptly shook her head.

"No, who?"

"Lorcan Scamander! I couldn't believe it!" Rose gushed in the most un-Roselike way I'd ever seen.

"Seriously? You're bloody lucky," Lily shrieked.

"Lils, language," I scolded her. She rolled her eyes and continued.

"Every Sixth Year girl is going to be so jealous, and everyone else for that matter. Lorcan and Lysander are the most gorgeous in the entire Sixth Year. Not as gorgeous as Score, but still."

I ignored their chatter for the remaining hour of the train ride, preferring instead to read a Muggle novel that Dad had sent me: _The Outsiders_. It's about a boy who lives on the wrong side of a town called Tulsa in the 1960's and his friends. It's pretty short, and by the time the train pulled into the station, I'd finished it.

"Hey, Scorpius, it's time to wake up." I shook him gently. His eyes snapped open and darted around the room in a panic.

"Calm down, Score, it was just a dream," Lily soothed. He calmed down a bit, but remained tense.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously. He looked directly at me, and the fear in his eyes made me shudder.

"What if… what if he comes and tries to take me with him? What am I gonna do?" His breathing sped up, and he was on the verge of hyperventilation.

"Come on, let's get off the train. I promise nothing will happen." I led him onto the platform, where Teddy was waiting for us.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted us brightly, "And you must be my cousin Scorpius."

"Y-your cousin?" Scorpius was confused, "Y-you're Teddy L-Lupin?"

"Yeah, I am. Don't worry, Scorpius. It's okay, I-" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a pale, blond man approaching us.

"Al, get Scorpius somewhere safe," He whispered to me. James, who had just come off the train, watched Teddy and Mr. Malfoy with interest for a second, but then chose to go with Lily to say goodbye to friends.

"Scorpius, it's going to be okay. Teddy's an Auror, he's got this under control, I promise. We won't let him take you." We watched the scene from a distance, and after a while, a very angry Mr. Malfoy stormed off. Scorpius, who had been squeezing my hand in fear, let go ashamedly.

"S-sorry mate. I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright. I was scared, too. Your father isn't someone I'd like to be around either. Come on, let's go home."


	11. Chapter 10: James

Here's Chapter 10! Thank you to Ferretess for reviewing!

Before we piled into the car, Teddy pulled me aside.

"James, I know you don't like Scorpius, but you should leave him be. He's going through a tough time right now and he doesn't need you to be cruel."

"Yeah, because I'm not supposed to remind him of…" I began, hoping Teddy would tell me what was going on.

"That's not going to work on me, James. What's going on is Scorpius' business, not mine. If he wants you to know, he'll tell me." I sighed in defeat and slid into the front seat. The ride to Godric's Hollow was quiet and full of apprehension, and I was relieved when we arrived.

"Dad, we're here!" Al shouted, and I escaped to my room after a short hello. Scorpius was staying in Al's room. I know it's immature, but I was excited to tease Al about that.

Dinner went the way it usually did. Malfoy was extremely quiet, and didn't disturb us at all. I was annoyed at myself that I paid so much attention to him, but it was almost scary. He never spoke unless he was addressed, and his answers were extremely short and quiet. He was always quiet and polite, but I'd never seen a kid so timid. It was almost as if he was scared of my family. But that didn't make any sense, I had the nicest family in the world. What was there to be afraid of?

I shook the thoughts from my head. I didn't want to ruin my Christmas by thinking about my brother's best friend's possible fear of the Weasley clan. I enjoyed the stories that my aunts and uncles told, and as usual, we went up to bed around midnight and the adults all talked about the war, mostly Uncle Fred, who we never heard much about.

I passed Malfoy on the way up. He leaned in towards the wall when he noticed me, as if he were trying to make himself invisible or something. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Hey, Death Eater! You like my house?" I wait for him to answer. He nods, but doesn't say anything.

"You not grateful to my parents for overlooking the fact that you hate _blood traitors _ like us." I knew that I was going a bit far, but that was the fun bit.

"N-no, I am. Your parents are b-being really k-kind to me." He tried to escape to Al's bedroom, but I didn't let him.

"Just don't have sex with my brother _or_ sister in my house." His face went extremely red.

"I'm not gay and neither is Al. Stop saying that; it really upsets him." He dodged me and sprinted into the room, where I assumed he was telling Al how horrid I was.

I decided that it was time for me to fulfill my duty as the eldest brother and be a nuisance to Al. I tiptoed over to his room and opened the door with an insult on my tongue. I peered in, ready to annoy my little brother, and was completely shocked by what I saw.

Albus wasn't in the room, but Malfoy was. He was sitting on the bed Dad had transfigured for him. He was shirtless, and his back was to me. His pale skin was marred with bruises and cuts that were only half healed. He looked horrible, and that was an understatement.

_Scorpius, what happened to you?_ I bit my lip to keep from making any noise. I watched him for a minute. He was sobbing, and his entire body was shaking. He looked so pathetic, like a puppy who'd been kicked a few times too many. I had no idea how to console him, so I just stood there. I didn't want him to know I was there. I closed the door gently and sprinted back to my room.

I collapsed onto my bed, deep in thought. That was what everyone didn't want me to know. Scorpius was being abused by his father. And everyone at school, myself included, was making him feel even more worthless. A wave of shame washed over me. Teddy had been right, he didn't need me to tease him. His father did enough of that at home, if it could even be called that. I was suddenly very proud of Albus, who'd stuck with him from the minute he'd found out, and even respected his friend's privacy by not telling me.

Everything else began to fall into place too. I'd heard stories of his panic attack during his Year's lesson on Unforgivables, which was probably a result of them being used on him. He acted like he was afraid of Dad and Uncle Ron because he thought that they'd hurt him because of their hatred for his father. He was quiet because he didn't want anyone to get mad at him.

I felt like a Grade A git, but I didn't know how to make it up to him. I couldn't even think about the amazing gifts I was sure to get in the morning. _Scorpius probably never got good Christmas presents,_ I thought sadly. I decided that the best thing to do would be to pretend I knew nothing. Little did I know, that plan wouldn't get me very far for very long.

There are three more chapters after this one (well, really two and an epilogue), so stay tuned! I should be done with this story by Tuesday (which is when I go away from the summer).


	12. Chapter 11: Scorpius

The next morning, I was woken up by an extremely excited Albus, who was about as hyper as a five year old on Christmas morning. I followed him downstairs, excited to see what his relatives had gotten him. I was about to sit next to him, when Mrs. Potter tapped me on the shoulder. I didn't flinch, and she visibly smiled at that.

"Sweetheart, your presents are over there." She pointed to a huge pile of wrapped boxes.

_This has to be a joke. No one gives me presents, I don't deserve them. Maybe they're giving me some of their old stuff. I wouldn't mind that; at least I'm getting something._

I noticed what looked like a gift-wrapped broom and pick it up, assuming that it was in the wrong pile until I noticed that my name was on the tag. I unwrapped it slowly, and found myself holding a Firebolt 3.0, the newest and most expensive broom on the market. I turned it over in my hand gingerly and found my first name engraved in the handle. _But not my last name. So I don't have to think about it?_

"Y-you really didn't have t-to…" I choked as my eyes blurred with tears. I couldn't believe that anyone had gotten me a real present, especially not something so fancy. Maybe they really did care about me. My heart soared at that thought.

"We wanted to, Scorpius. Happy Christmas," Mr. Potter told me kindly as he pulled me into an embrace. I'd never felt safer than I did in his arms. I decided that I'd open the rest of my presents later. I was already overwhelmed by the first one. We continued talking in the Family Room for hours. I heard more family stories and played with the twins. Lily was right, they were adorable. Little Remus babbled as he tried to walk, and Jessica refused to leave Rose's arms. The moment was ruined by James, who grabbed my arm and literally pulled me to the stairs.

"Scorpius, your father's here," He told me in a complete panic. _Father? What is he doing here? I'm supposed to be safe._ "Let's go to my room. He won't find you there." I wondered why he cared, but decided not to question it.

He closed his door behind me and locked it with magic.

"He won't be able to get in. My dad set it up so that people can only get in if he, Mum, or I allow it. You're safe in here."

"Th-thanks J-James." He smiled sadly and motioned for me to sit on the bed, which I did. "Why… why'd you bring me in here?"

"I know what he did to you, Scorpius. He wants you to go back with him. I'm pretty sure that's just about the worst idea anyone's ever had."

"How'd you find out?" His cheeks redden a bit, and he breaks eye contact.

"Last night I… I went to Al's room to be obnoxious. I saw you with your shirt off. I was the biggest git on the planet, Scorpius. Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I'm sure you've told Al, but if you want to, I'd listen."

"He didn't used to be like this. When Mum was alive, he wasn't the nicest father, but he never did anything particularly bad. He didn't really show affection often, but I had Mum, so it was okay. She was… she is my favourite person in the world. I know it's childish, but I miss her so much."

"It's not childish, Scorpius, she's your mother. It's okay to miss her, healthy even. It sounds like she was a great person, and I'm so sorry she's gone."

"She was very sick when I started at Hogwarts, and she passed when I was at school. Father didn't even let me go to the funeral. He said that I had to keep up with my studies. When I came home for the summer, he was even more distant than usual. He'd begun drinking more, and started smacking me around a bit. By the time I left for Second Year, he'd beaten me a few times. Every time I saw him it got worse." I was surprised how coherent I was, and how distant it all felt, like it was another lifetime or something.

"He beat you when you were eleven," James muttered in disbelief, "What kind of monster beats his eleven-year-old son?" I smiled sympathetically. I'd sort of come to terms with it, but sitting in the Potter's house, I was rethinking that. It wasn't okay as I'd convinced myself it was.

"Yeah, he did. When I started taking Muggle Studies, it got much worse, but those beatings I understood. He'd wanted me to be like him, a blood purist. He was so disappointed with me when I was sorted, and Muggle Studies was an even stronger blow. For me it was a victory. I wasn't turning out like him, so maybe I'd end up differently. I wouldn't be a Death Eater, and I wouldn't abuse my future children. I could deal with the bullying at school. I mean, kids are cruel, and I was an easy target. I had some allies, like Lily, so it wasn't all bad. It was much worse at home. I mean, he's my father. He's supposed to love me and take care of me. I still don't understand why he didn't."

"It doesn't matter why, it just matters that he didn't treat you properly. Mum and Dad are going to the Ministry to get custody of you tomorrow. Maybe they'll even land your father in Azkaban. I hope they can, he deserves that and so much worse."

After a while, the door opened. I braced myself for the worst, but nothing happened.

"Scorpius, your father is gone. We're going to the Ministry tomorrow, and you're going to have to come with us. Is that okay?" Mr. Potter asked me gently. I nodded dumbly.

"We're going to make sure that he can't get you anymore. You're going to live here with us, and no one's ever going to hurt you again. I promise."

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate all this."

"I know you do, Scorpius."


	13. Chapter 12: Scorpius

This is the last real chapter guys! LET'S DO THIS!

We returned from the Ministry of Magic late in the afternoon. I was exhausted, but extremely relieved. It was official, I was Scorpius Potter, the legal son of Harry and Ginevra Potter, brother of Albus, Lily, and James. Draco Malfoy, my birth father was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. His friends in high places couldn't get him out of it, and I was glad that he couldn't hurt anyone else.

"Scorpius, I don't think you and Al can share a room forever. I'm going to set up a room for you." I stared at Mr. Potter in shock.

"But sir, what about your guests? Where will they stay?" I knew that the Potters loved to entertain guests, and I didn't want to stop them after all they'd done.

"We'll build an addition to the house soon, but you need a room right now. We want to give you a bedroom to yourself." He led me upstairs to my new room and sat me on the bed.

"We need to have a talk, Scorpius. I'm going to tell you about my childhood."

"We learned about it in History of Magic, sir. You were the chosen one who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"I thought people had gotten over their fear of his name," Mr. Potter remarked absently.

"They have. Everyone else at school says it. I just… can't do it. Not after what my… what the Malfoys did." Mr. Potter nodded in understanding.

"Well, you've heard about my life at school, but very few people know of my life at home. My parents died when I was a baby, and I went to live with my Mum's sister and her husband. Vernon and Petunia Dursley were the most ordinary Muggles in all of England, and they hated me for being so unordinary. They neglected me and spoiled their son Dudley, who was the same age as I was. I never got new clothing or toys, and I always had to do chores. No one ever really cared about a nobody like me until I turned eleven. I met Ron and Hermione, and we became the best of friends. The summer before my Second Year, I went to Molly and Arthur's old house for a few weeks, and that was the first time I ever felt loved. I wanted to give that love to you, Scorpius. I wanted you to feel safe and at home here. Did we do a good job of that?"

"Yes, sir. You did," I responded politely but truthfully.

"Scorpius, you don't have to call me sir. I want you to call me Harry."

"Thank you, Harry," I said quietly, "Thank you for everything. You're the best guardian I could've asked for."

Harry led me back downstairs, where I found the entire Weasley family, cousins and all, jumping out from behind the furniture.

"Surprise!" I couldn't believe it. They were throwing me a party to celebrate my adoption. The small part of my brain that had been insisting that they were pitying me finally shut up.

"You really didn't have to do all of this for me," I told Harry shyly as I carefully inspected my shoes for invisible dirt.

"Yeah, but we wanted to. You mean a lot to us, Scorpius. We wouldn't have adopted you otherwise." I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the entire night.

We went back to school after Christmas holiday, and it seemed that everyone had heard about the events that had occurred.

"So, the Snake has wormed his way into the Potter family," Luke Jordan whispered to his sister as I walked into Defense class. Evie gave her brother a hard look.

"It wasn't like that, Luke, and you know it." She then turned to me, "I'm so happy for you, Scorpius." I smiled a bit at her.

"Thanks."

"Maybe we could be friends now? I mean, you're going to need some allies other than the Weasleys. Kids can be cruel." With the last sentence, she glanced at her brother. I smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Maybe after class we could compare notes or something."

"Are you asking me out, Potter?" She questioned, eyebrow raised. I blushed, and hesitated. Was it too soon? Lily and I had decided that it would be a bad idea to date as siblings. I definitely still liked her, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I liked Evie.

"I guess I am," I told her, "So, will you?" _She's going to say no. She doesn't hate you, but she still doesn't want to date the son of a Death Eater. Or she doesn't want her brother to kill her. She…_

"Of course I will."

"Cool. So meet me at Honeydukes next Hogsmeade Weekend?"

"I thought you weren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade," she teased. I sighed heavily. No one knew what had happened. The story that was spread was vague; everyone knew that my father was dead, but they didn't know how or why. Many kids suspected that it was by Kiss, but those rumors were hushed.

"I am now." She didn't need to know about Draco's cruelty towards me. Not yet.


	14. Epilogue: Scorpius

The end of our Hogwarts career was speeding towards us. We only had two weeks left before Al was going to start his apprenticeship at Ollivander's and I would begin my training at the Ministry's new Child Welfare Department. Rosie was worrying about exams as usual, even though she still had nothing to worry about. I decided to take a walk around the grounds to let her study. I passed dozens of familiar faces belonging to children in my year (though we weren't really children at that point) and thought about how much they'd grown to accept me since I joined the Potter family. I still wasn't sure if they liked me or if they just didn't want to deal with the Weasley clan's wrath, but either way, my last two years of school had been far more pleasant than my first five. As I strolled, I noticed someone sitting by the lake. I approached slowly, trying to figure out who it was. The child was small,dressed in red and gold, and appeared to be crying.

"Are you alright?" I asked gently, trying not to startle him. He jumped anyway, and scooted desperately towards the lake. I caught a glimpse of his face before it was once again buried under his robe. He was the spitting image of Draco's old partner in crime, Greg Goyle, except he was much thinner, the way Harry was when he was a kid. That fact alone set off warning bells in my head.

"I'm f-fine," He stuttered, his voice shaking so much that I was sure he wasn't.

"Can you tell me what's wrong? I just want to help you."

"I don't wanna go h-home. I l-like it here!"

"What's bad about going home?"

"There's a m-monster there."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Josh G-Goyle. But I already know yours. You're Scorpius Potter." He looked up at me, and there was a glint in his eyes. _Is that hope?_

"Can you tell me what the monster looks like, Josh?" I prayed to Merlin that it wasn't what I thought it was. Considering his father's relationship with mine, my prayers weren't likely to come true.

"My F-father. He has a whip and he…" Josh couldn't finish his sentence. Tears had begun to roll down his pale cheeks, and his body was shaking again. I pulled him close to me and stroked his hair.

"It's going to be okay, Josh, I promise. I won't let him hurt you anymore."

That's the end, guys! I hope you enjoyed.


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